


Face to Face

by VanishedElf



Series: Dancing with Tencas [1]
Category: SuperM, WAYV
Genre: Anal Sex, Brief WayV scenes, Canon Compliant, Flirting, Friends to Lovers, Light Pining, LuTen, M/M, Mutual Masturbation, Oral Sex, Sexual Tension, Smut, SuperM ensemble - Freeform, TenCas, luten endgame, minor taeten vibes, yukten
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-25
Updated: 2019-12-02
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:07:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21557509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VanishedElf/pseuds/VanishedElf
Summary: "Honestly, no."Lucas tilted his head to the side. "Really?""Yes, really. Sex is the last thing on my mind right now."___In the chaos that is their lives, Lucas and Ten have few things that remain constant—apart from the obvious.
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas
Series: Dancing with Tencas [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1569946
Comments: 30
Kudos: 328





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The work is already finished. The next chapter will be edited and posted by next week.

"Honestly, no."

Lucas tilted his head to the side. "Really?"

"Yes, really. Sex is the last thing on my mind right now."

Ten perched on a chair in front of a hotel desk, books spread out in front of him, earbud in one ear. As usual his posture was immaculate.

Lucas cracked a smirk. "Not even with Taeyong?"

There was a pause.

"You think you're really funny, huh?" Ten asked after a moment, labouring through the Mandarin as his brain took its time switching from one language to another. He set his pencil down and turned around, his expression almost patronizing.

"What?" Lucas asked innocently, holding up his hands, bright blue hair tumbling back from tan skin. "I'm just curious."

"And I'm trying to study Korean."

"Why?"

"Why aren't you?" Ten laughed. "We're in a Korean supergroup."

Lucas shrugged, cracking a smirk. "I figured I'd get by on my looks instead."

Ten wasn't listening anymore. A point on the page had drawn him back in. He reached for his pencil, eyebrows knit together in thought.

"And I _am_ studying Korean, just so you know," Lucas said. "Amongst other things." A pause. "Like the way you stare at Taeyong's ass in dance practice all the time."

Ten's pencil lead snapped against the notebook.

Lucas put on a fake, high voice. "Oh, Taeyong-ssi, I really like your technique, it reminds me of my roots, it's so sharp-"

Ten stood up slowly and squared his shoulders, inhaling deeply.

"Maybe we could get together and do another collab sometime-"

Ten turned around, smiling serenely, and walked up to the sofa. He dropped down in front of Lucas, strong thighs making the squat look as sturdy as though he were sitting on a stool. Their faces were barely a foot apart.

"So you noticed me checking out TaeTae's body?"

Lucas chuckled. "Yeah, dude. You were staring so hard."

Ten ran his hands up Lucas's legs, sticking his lips out, crinkling his forehead. The expression was a little strange on his simple, elegant face, but he somehow managed to pull it off. "Holy shit. These things go on for days."

"I've been working out."

"Since when does working out make your legs longer?" Ten squeezed Lucas's thighs with both hands. "You know how annoying it is to be short and you've kept this secret from me all this time?"

"I dunno. I like your body."

"I know you do."

Lucas was fixing his hair over Ten's shoulder in the mirror. He paused. "Wait. What?"

Ten gave Lucas's legs a final squeeze and then rose to his feet, dusting off his hands and walking back towards the desk. "You aren't the only one who notices where people are looking sometimes. Now, back to Korean grammar..."

Ten sat back down and began shuffling through a stack of study cards. Lucas stared at the floor, one hand still buried in his hair. Two people walked by outside in the hallway, chatting loudly. Ten gave a little irritable huff and stretched his neck.

"But you do think Taeyong is hot right?"

"For the love of god." Ten stuffed the flashcards inside his notebook and closed it.

"Kinda thought it might be hot to have a threesome."

"Lucas Wong."

"What?" Lucas laughed, one hand playing with his belt. "It's just been on my mind."

"Well, now it's on my mind too. Thanks a lot."

"But he is really hot though."

Ten sunk down and rested his face in his hands. "Yeah."

"So what are we going to do about it?"

"I dunno." Ten gave a sarcastic snort of laughter. "Maybe just talk to him? About everyday things? Like normal people would?"

"In Korean."

"Well, obviously."

"Hmm. Interesting."

"I swear to god if you say one more word!" Ten jumped on top of Lucas and straddled him, wrestling his arms back, bouncing up and down in his lap with the force of Lucas's laughter. "I have many, many practical reasons for improving my Korean language skills—"

"Mhm. right."

"The same way I have many, many practical reasons to improve my Mandarin, other than getting to know _you_ —"

Lucas raised an eyebrow. Ten slapped his chest, head hanging back in breathless giggles. "You're hopeless."

"Your Mandarin is getting decent, by the way."

"Your Thai isn't."

"Hey." Lucas pouted. "I'm trying my best."

"You so aren't."

"I'm... busy."

"Doing what?" Ten brushed his own dark, pitchy hair back from his face, gazing down at Lucas. His lips were slightly parted. "Checking me out?"

"Such a flirt," Lucas whispered.

"I flirt with everyone."

"I know."

"Wow." Ten looked impressed. "You really have been checking me out."

It happened so fast Ten actually let out a little yelp. Lucas scooped him into his arms, pushed off the sofa in a bucking motion, and flipped them. Ten's back collided against the leather upholstery with a clap. Lucas hovered over him, watching his face attentively. The straddling felt a lot less domineering now that Ten was the one underneath.

"Just imagine it, though." Lucas shuffled around a bit, like he were settling in for a nice, cozy chat. "Kissing those pretty lips of his."

"What a concept."

Lucas looked impressed. "You want kinkier? Because I can give you kinkier."

Ten nodded enthusiastically. "That would be nice."

"What if we spoiled him. Got him between us; you know, you could go at his cock and nips while I fucked him from behind."

"Uh."

"And like, kiss him." Lucas's expression was suddenly a little distant. "Fuck, I keep coming back to that one. I'd really like to see that."

"You do realize he might not be into men."

"Oh, he's into men."

"What? How do you know this?"

"I asked Mark."

"Jesus Christ Lucas, now everyone's going to think you're gay—"

"I'm bisexual, actually."

"Touché. Forgive me for not knowing that in the first conversation we've ever had about these things."

"Getting off to a pretty good start, wouldn't you say?"

Ten squirmed a little, getting his leg into a position where it wasn't going to fall asleep. In the process his crotch ground up against Lucas's crotch. He let his head fall back like deadweight against the armrest.

"I told him I was asking for a friend, anyway."

"What?" Ten's eyes flew back open. "We're the only two people from WayV. They're all going to think it's me!"

"Oh. Yeah, probably. Whoops."

Ten shook his head. There were very few ways to look at this, very few of which were good. He took the easy way out and changed the topic.

"So what about you?" He poked Lucas's chest. "Why were you snooping around about Taeyong anyway?"

"I dunno, I guess I just wanted to know."

"For my sake?"

"Yeah. Although, to be honest I kind of thought you two might be fucking anyway, the way he looks at you sometimes."

"The way he _what_?"

"That boy is thirsty on your talent."

Ten slid out from under Lucas and sat up, taking a few deep breaths. Lucas propped his chin on his shoulder.

"Why are you pouting now?"

"Because you went away."

"I can't have this conversation in that... position." Ten straightened his shirt.

"What do you mean?"

Ten turned around and looked at him dangerously. "Do you wanna go right now? Is that what you're getting at? Because any more of this nonsense and I'm gonna start taking my clothes off."

Lucas froze, his eyes wide.

"Uh huh. Didn't think so."

"Holy shit. Am I actually turning you on?"

"This whole _situation_ is turning me on." Ten pushed his chest out and stretched, letting out a long, exasperated sigh. "Fuck if I know why."

"So I take it you're a bottom?"

Ten hid his face in his hands. His voice came out through his fingers as a muffled and bedraggled moan. "Lucas—"

"Okay, okay." Lucas held up his hands again. "We don't have to talk about it. But like, if we don't talk about it, what else are we going to talk about?"

"Dancing. The tour. Learning Korean. Whether or not blue was a good colour choice for your hair. How to bake bread. I don't know. The grain of the wood on this table."

"What about the grain of _my_ woo—"

Ten burst into laughter, sliding down the couch onto the floor. Lucas looked even more pleased with himself, if that was possible.

Someone knocked on the door.

Ten leaned against Lucas's legs and rested the back of his head on his knee. Lucas glanced at the door. "Are you going to get that?" he asked. Ten gazed silently at Lucas's upside-down face. He let one of his hands wander up between Lucas's legs, brushing carelessly with his fingertips. Denim bunched around a sizable bulge. Ten bared his teeth a little, making a playful hissing noise.

"Fuck," Lucas muttered.

"Come in," Ten yelled, without warning.

The door swung open. Taeyong and Mark bounded into the room and Lucas frantically grabbed a side cushion and stuffed it into his lap, getting Ten in the eye with one of the corners.

"Hey guys," Mark said, sipping banana milk through a straw.

"Hey." Ten massaged his eyelid, which was watering out the edges. He glared at Lucas with his good eye. Lucas mouthed a silent _sorry,_ pointing to the pillow as if that offered some kind of appropriate explanation.

Mark's eyes flitted from Ten to the pillow and then up to the ceiling, as if he were afraid of what else he might see if he kept looking. Taeyong, on the other hand, stared intently at the two of them, chewing the end of his straw.

"Got your coffee with milk?" Ten asked, in fast and clumsy Korean.

"Cream," Taeyong corrected.

"I'm sorry," Mark said, clearing his throat. His eyes wandered back to the pillow and he winced. "Did we interrupt something?"

"Oh, no." Ten smiled. "It's nothing."

Lucas looked a little crestfallen.

"What happened to your eye?" Taeyong asked.

"We were wrestling," Ten said cheerfully. "It got a little rough."

"Wrestling? What's wrestling?" Lucas asked.

Ten translated it into Mandarin for him. He looked a little less crestfallen.

"Okay." Mark nodded. "Let's go with that. I'm happy with that explanation. It's great."

"Your Korean sounds good," Taeyong said, shuffling his feet. He was dressed in sweatpants, a toque, and a loose muscle shirt that showed off his arms.

Ten's eyes lingered. "Thanks."

"He's been studying," Lucas said in clumsy Korean. "Studying _lots._ "

Ten glared at Lucas until his snickering subsided.

"Soooo anyways," Mark said. "We came by to let you guys know. Party. In Jongin's room. Lots of wine. Right now."

Ten tilted his head to the side. "Why?"

"Blowing off steam before the next leg of the tour?" Mark shrugged. "Something like that. I dunno, Taemin was a little confusing."

The four of them vacated Ten's hotel room and made the journey four doors down to Jongin's. The hotel was extravagant. The decor would have felt dated if it hadn't been so immaculately maintained. The whitewashed walls dipped in and out in a textural array of wainscoting, alcoves, and carved panels. There was a marble table next to the elevator that had a vase of fresh-cut flowers on top of it, as well as a mess of water bottles, radios, and snacks left there by the security team that monitored the corridor. Crystal chandeliers lit up the ceilings about once every eight feet.

"I feel like I'm in a palace," Ten said.

"I'd be the charming prince," Lucas said.

Ten laughed.

"We'd all be princes," Mark said a little tiredly. "Preening princes vying for the spotlight."

They pushed the door open and got smacked by a wave of hot, boozy air. A bluetooth speaker was banging out an electro-house playlist from the bathroom, where someone was taking a shower with the door open.

"Welcome," Jongin said, gesturing gallantly to the table. "To our humble abode." He was lying back on a sea green couch, shirt completely unbuttoned and grey plaid slacks pulled tight around spread legs. Four pairs of eyes wandered down his body, Mark staring especially hard.

Jongin's smile was a little knowing.

The table was heaped with wine bottles, half of which were uncorked. Taeyong crinkled his nose. "You shouldn't have opened all of those. They're going to go to waste."

"Oh, I don't know about that." Jongin smiled at Taeyong slyly. "You've never seen Lee Taemin drink before, have you?"

Something clunked just in front of them and Mark jumped backwards, pushing Taeyong into Ten. Ten caught him by the shoulders, steadying them both. Taeyong turned around, eyes wide, and Ten smiled at him—one of those sharp little smiles he was known for. Taeyong blinked a couple times and then turned around, took off his toque, fixed his hair, and put it back on.

Lucas tore his eyes away and looked back at the table.

"Holy shit, Hyung," Mark laughed. "Were you under there the whole time?"

Taemin emerged from underneath the table, pushing a chair to the side and wincing. His hair hung heavy in his face. His skin was even more flushed than Jongin's. He was holding a wineglass in one hand, filled halfway with dark red wine. A cursory glance at the carpet told them he hadn't spilled a drop, despite having just slammed his head into the bottom of the table.

"Hello, Hyung," Ten said.

Taemin's eyes lit up. "Oh hello, there."

Ten bowed his head slightly.

"It isn't real," Taemin reported back to the couch, where Jongin had been joined by a dripping-wet Baekhyun, half-wrapped in a white towel. Taemin slithered up between two chairs and stalked over to join them. "Just looks like it."

"They'd be mad to put an actual Stickley in a hotel room," Jongin mused.

"They were mad enough to lay down those cream carpets."

"I congratulate you on keeping all of your wine in your glass," Baekhyun said. "Now how about we see about replenishing your waning supply with some of this cabernet?"

"Our Hyungs are so bougee," Mark whispered in Ten's ear.

Lucas was already pouring them all glasses, each from a different bottle.

"Nice sparkly wine for Mark," he said, handing him the glass. "Manly red wine for me. Pink wine for Ten."

Ten snorted, but took the glass anyway.

"I'm opening a window," Taeyong said, hurrying across the room. He heaved open the balcony doors and propped them open with a chair. He wandered back to find Lucas extending a glass of chardonnay towards him.

"Why are you the one playing bartender when you're not even legal in this country?"

Lucas smiled his crooked smile. It was hard to tell if he'd understood anything Taeyong said, but he responded in Korean nonetheless. "Drink," he said, and Taeyong took the glass.

Ten wandered over to chat with their Hyungs. Taemin retrieved a bottle of merlot from the table. Someone changed the playlist and turned off all the lights except a couple lamps.

Lucas found Taeyong out on the balcony, leaning against the railing.

"You've been quiet," he remarked.

"I can't drink."

Lucas eyed Taeyong's empty glass with a raised eyebrow.

"But I did." Taeyong suppressed a giggle.

"Oh wow. Are you drunk already?"

"Good evening," Ten said dramatically, striding out to join them. Mark followed behind, a fresh glass of wine in his hand.

"Finished schmoozing with the Hyungs?" Lucas asked.

"Talking dance with Taemin never gets old."

"We should all play truth or dare!" Taeyong suddenly exclaimed.

"I mean, I'm down," Mark said. "Lucas, I dare you to wear your hair up in a tiny little ponytail for the rest of the night."

"That isn't how this works," Taeyong said. "First we have to decide who's going, and then he has to pick, and then we, oh my god, that was so random how did you come up with that so fast?" He pressed a finger to his bottom lip and stared at Mark in fascination.

Lucas disappeared. Ten finished his rosé and Mark topped him up with something even darker than Lucas's first glass.

"I pick truth," Ten said.

"Okay," Mark said. He fiddled with his sleeve for a moment, staring at the ground. His eyes wandered back up to Ten's. He inhaled deeply and then let out a little huff through his nostrils.

"It's okay," Ten chuckled. "I won't bite."

"Why don't you tell us what was really going on between you and Lucas today?" Mark blurted.

Ten's eyes went wide. "Oh."

Lucas walked up with a tiny blue ponytail poking out the top of his head. The rest of his hair stuck out the sides in messy Einstein poofs.

"I found elastics in the bathroom." He pointed to his head with a big grin. "Look."

"Or you could show us," Mark said nonchalantly to Ten. "Yeah. I dare you to do it again, right now. Whoa, buddy." Taeyong bumped into Mark, laughing breathlessly and pointing at Lucas's hair.

Ten appeared to be thinking. After a moment, he set down his wine.

"What's going on?" Lucas asked.

"Oh shit," Mark said.

***

The room wasn't spinning, or even swaying at this point. It was more of a glow; the kind of tipsiness where everything seems a little less sharp, a little more narrow. Ten smiled secretly to himself.

He took a few loose steps towards Lucas, his eyes cast downwards. Lucas's laughter died down within seconds. A breeze pulled at Ten's loose top, scratching the thin wool over his skin. He didn't stop until their toes were almost touching. "Hey," he said softly, his eyes sliding upwards.

Lucas swallowed.

"Remember what we did today?"

"Yeah," Lucas grunted.

Ten reached up and rested his hand on Lucas's chest. Just a light touch, but Lucas inhaled sharply. Ten's eyes darted back up to Lucas's, his eyebrows knitting up in confusion.

_What—_

Then Lucas's hand was on the back of his neck, and Ten's hands were tangled in the front of Lucas's shirt, and out of nowhere, Ten felt an embarrassingly urgent wash of heat swell up between his legs. The glow was no longer just in his vision. It was everywhere. It was all over his body.

It was inside him.

Lucas's hand slid down his back, down and down, and then sideways, resting on his hip, and maybe the room was spinning now. Everything in Ten's body wanted to turn into that touch, wanted Lucas's big hands on him this time, wanted more than just the teasing touch he'd given Lucas earlier—

"Uh, ok," Mark said.

The spell broke as violently as being hurled into a pile of snow after doing hot yoga. 

"Anyways." Ten's hands dropped to his sides. "Who wants to go next?"

Mark blinked, and then cleared his throat. Ten turned his back on Lucas without meeting his eye.

"Like, what are the limits here?" Mark asked.

"I'm down with anything," Lucas said. His voice was deep and raspy over Ten's shoulder. Ten shuffled. He was tempted to go outside and run a few laps around their floor.

"Me too," Taeyong slurred. "Also down for all the things."

"Oh no." Mark looked down. "Did you drink the rest of Ten's wine?"

Taeyong shook his head, pulling down his toque to hide his eyes.

He totally had.

"I'm sorry, we're gonna need to get him back to his room like, right now." Mark sighed, slinging one of Taeyong's arms over his shoulders. "He's such a lightweight it's nuts."

"I'm not," Taeyong argued, reaching clumsily for another bottle. Mark yanked him away and almost tripped over Taemin's suitcase. Lucas and Ten hurried over to help. Baekhyun and Taemin were sitting on the floor next to the window. Taemin was in a towel now too, hair wet, and the shower was running. Jongin was nowhere to be seen.

"Those three must be mermaids," Mark muttered.

Taeyong refused to change his outfit, claiming all his other clothes were too clean to wear in his present state. He also refused to get into bed until Mark painstakingly reminded him that the hotel staff could change the sheets anytime he wanted, so even if he made the sheets dirty by sleeping in them without clean clothes, he could fix it first thing in the morning.

"And he will," Mark sighed. "Fix it, first thing, that is. Long before I would've otherwise woken up."

"You're gonna stay with him?" Ten asked.

"Yeah." Mark patted Taeyong's side. "I'll stay."

Taeyong made a garbled noise.

"Well," Mark said, laughing awkwardly. "Have fun, you two."

"We can like, keep you company," Ten said. "Keep the party going, you know?"

"Nah. It's okay. I better sleep while I can."

Ten and Lucas filed out to the sound of Taeyong knocking a glass of water off the nightstand. The door shut behind them, echoing into the silence, and suddenly they were alone in the quiet of the hallway.

Ten was looking down. Lucas stood somewhere to his left. Ten didn't trust himself to look. He didn't trust himself to speak. It was like somebody had loaded the same song dozens of times in the queue, and no matter how many times he hit _play,_ the same thing was bound to come out.

"Hey."

Ten's eyes darted upwards. Lucas was staring at him hard, without an ounce of humour in his expression. "Do you want to come to my room for a bit?"

Ten nodded.

They shuffled into his room and sat down on the couch. Lucas poured them a couple glasses of water. "Look," he said, pulling a wine bottle out of his hoodie.

Ten laughed a little too loudly. "Stealthy."

Lucas pulled out the loosened cork and took a sip. He handed it to Ten and watched him drink.

"So that was interesting."

"Oh my god." Ten ran a hand down the side of his face, chuckling to himself. "Taeyong got so drunk."

"It was kind of cute."

"Yeah," Ten agreed. "It was."

"Can I kiss you?"

"Yes," Ten said. "You can."

Lucas leaned in without hesitation.

The feeling of Lucas's full, thick lips against his own sent a squirm through Ten's whole body. Whatever strange thing they'd awakened on the balcony—perhaps even earlier, during that bizarre moment on Ten's couch—was now screaming in Ten's ears louder than gale force winds. His lips parted, and then they were kissing so messily both of them could hardly breathe. He sucked at Lucas's tongue. His abs kept jolting, little waves of voltage rolling through his muscles. Lucas pushed a hand up his shirt.

"Fuck, you're sexy."

"Look who's talking." Ten fumbled with the top of Lucas's hair, giggling breathlessly. "And oh my god, this ridiculous little ponytail."

Lucas pulled Ten's shirt off and planted his mouth directly on Ten's nipple. Ten rolled against him with a restrained sigh. One of Lucas's hands was on Ten's shoulder, the other gripping the side of his waist. Ten was straddling Lucas again, and Lucas took full advantage of the grind.

It was when Ten was whimpering against Lucas's neck, hair sticking in all directions, and both of them were so chaffed from the friction they felt dizzy, that Lucas picked Ten up in his arms, walked into the bedroom, and spilled him onto the bed. Lucas crawled on top of him and Ten put a hand out and pushed against Lucas's chest.

"I don't..."

"You okay?" Lucas asked.

"I don't know if I can do this."

"You feeling alright?"

Ten shivered, running both hands through his hair. "I'm feeling horny as fuck, to be honest with you."

"Well then..."

"This is a terrible idea," Ten laughed, throwing his head to the side, exposing a long strip of neck.

"What in particular..."

"Bottoming," Ten elucidated. "Taking it up the ass before a show. I'm going to be limping through the choreography."

Lucas thought for a moment. "What if... I gave you my ass."

"You wouldn't."

"Actually, I would."

Ten looked shocked. "Have you ever before?"

"Yeah, once or twice." Lucas smirked. "I mean, it feels fucking good. Why would I complain?"

Ten laughed shyly, and then grabbed Lucas by the front of the shirt and pulled him down beside him. He unbuttoned Lucas's pants, and then Lucas caught on. "Oh, here," he said, and proceeded to strip off not only his pants, but his underwear and shirt as well. Ten laughed again, covering his mouth.

"Yeah, I definitely would've been limping."

"Let's see what you have down there."

"Get the lube while I take my pants off."

Lucas fumbled around in his suitcase for a while, his big naked form hunched down next to the bed. Ten stripped naked, and then, before he had time to second guess his decisions, went and got the wine and took a few sips.

"Holy shit," Lucas said, plopping down beside Ten. He stared shamelessly. "You're almost as big as me."

"Still sure you wanna do this?"

"Fuck yeah." Lucas sprawled out on his back, spreading his long thighs apart. He smiled up at Ten warmly. "It's all yours."

Ten stared down at him. "You're never going to let me live this down."

"Nope."

Ten sighed, uncapping the lube.

Like with everything else concerning Lucas, loosening him up was a rather chill experience. Ten worked in one finger, and then two, and Lucas bit his lips, making little moans. He probably knew he looked fucking good like this, spread out and pretty, his thick eyebrows arching now and then as Ten pushed even deeper, but somehow, that didn't make any of it feel less genuine.

"Feels good?" Ten asked, just because he wanted to hear the answer.

"So good."

"Want more?"

"Fuck y-yeah," Lucas panted.

Ten positioned himself between Lucas's legs and slipped a condom on. Even just the slide of his own hand pushing the rubber down made his stomach dip. He squirted a good amount of lube onto Lucas's hole, rubbing at it with his thumb. "Ready?" he asked, voice high and tight with desire.

Lucas nodded.

Ten pushed his hips forward, a little impatient, a little fast. He'd soaked through his boxers with precum just grinding on the couch. He was more than ready to feel some relief from this ridiculous game. Lucas moaned deeply. Ten pulled his hips back and pushed in again, a fast but steady slide.

"God damn," Lucas gasped, arching against the mattress.

"You okay?"

"That's _deep_."

Ten took shaky breaths against Lucas's neck. Lucas let out a little choked laugh. "What are you doing?" He patted Ten's back, voice a little taunting. "Come on, are you done already?"

"If you want me to take what I want, I'm going to take it," Ten whispered, "but you need to tell me if it's too much, alright?"

"Yeah, alright. Please, just fuck me."

Ten bucked forward, hard. Lucas moaned once, loud and sudden. Ten thrusted, over and over, fast and quick, and then paused. "Need you deeper." He arched upwards, pushing Lucas's thighs further apart with his hands. He was flexible enough to work the angle even with his own thighs spread wide around Lucas's ass. Lucas's moans shortened into hoarse little grunts.

It was kind of like dancing, but when Ten was on the stage, his passion was refined, complex. Right now was simple. Right now wasn't about putting on a good show. Right now there was an ache in a very specific place, where Ten's body met with Lucas's, and Ten was hell-bent on chasing that ache into oblivion.

Lucas was nowhere near as flexible as Ten, but he tilted his hips just a little bit further forward and almost yelled as Ten's cock hit him square in the prostate. Ten looked down curiously. Beads of sweat had begun to form on his hairline. His sharp angular eyes permeated the darkness of Lucas's room, straight into Lucas's eyes as he studied his face.

"Keep going," Lucas whispered.

There it was, again, and again... Lucas's body was rigid; he struggled to keep himself in that position. Ten reached underneath him and pulled his hips up with two hands. "Let go," he said softly. "I've got you."

Lucas relaxed, but Ten's thrusts were no less frantic. He gripped Lucas around the waist and drove up into him from below. Lucas reached down and began to jerk himself off just to relieve some of the pressure building up between his legs.

"Oh, fuck—"

An orgasm rose up out of nowhere, taking him off guard. It was a wordless orgasm, every tendon in his neck tightening, his teeth clenched together. Pleasure pounded itself into every inch of his body, seizing in his abdomen, wrapped around Ten's cock, pulsing out over his stomach. Ten's thrusts got erratic.

"Fuck," Ten moaned. "Yes, please, fuck—"

He pressed his pelvis flush against Lucas's ass and gasped. Lucas gripped the sheets. Ten pulled back one more time, and then slid forward, moaning at the back of his throat. The arm he was using to hold himself up with shook violently. He pulled out gingerly, and then rolled onto his side, his body twitching with aftershocks. Lucas lay on his back, eyes closed, breathing.

"You okay?" Ten asked, reaching out and draping his fingers over Lucas's forearm.

"That was fucking amazing," Lucas sighed, already half asleep.

"Okay," Ten mumbled. "Good."


	2. Chapter 2

Lucas woke up wrapped in a hotel duvet. His entire body was cloaked in sweat. The moment he moved to kick the covers off he cursed out loud. "Right," he said, carefully moving his leg back into place. He lay there in a sleepy daze, the ache in his ass stirring memories from last night.

Ten on top of him.

Ten's hands on his skin.

The contortion on Ten's face as he came.

By the time he stumbled out of bed for a shower he was rocking a semi. He ran the water lukewarm and jerked off, leaning against the wall, and then washed his hair. Blue dye spilled between his feet. His hair follicles ached from staying up in the ponytail all night.

Lucas dressed himself in a t-shirt and sweatpants and headed down to the private cafeteria a floor down. He caught a glimpse of Ten at a table, headphones in underneath his toque and fork poised above a plate of salad. He smiled to himself and headed to the buffet. When he came back to the seating area, Ten was gone.

"Holy shit," Mark said, as Lucas joined them at a table. "You look like you've been run over by something. Like, maybe a couple times."

"Yeah," Lucas agreed.

Mark was eating pancakes with a fork and knife. Taeyong hunched to his left, hood drawn up and legs pulled tight to his chest, his coffee and hashbrowns untouched. He stared into the distance. Both of them had dark circles underneath their eyes, although Mark seemed to be handling it better.

"Did you end up doing a bunch of laundry?"

"Changed all of the bedding before seven a.m.," Mark said cheerfully. "And had all of the towels switched out for good measure."

Lucas only understood about half of the Korean but he still laughed so hard eggs spilled out of his mouth back onto the plate.

"I feel like shit," Taeyong said flatly.

"I know, I know man." Mark patted his shoulder. "Just think about how Taemin feels right now. That'll give you some comfort. Or any of the Hyungs for that matter."

Lucas's expression became a little more sympathetic. "Have you seen any of them today?"

"Nope. I think they ordered room service." Mark set down his glass of milk. "What about you?"

Lucas stuffed three grapes in his mouth. "What do you mean?"

"How did the rest of your night go?"

Lucas swallowed the grapes and then crammed down half a mini-omelette in one bite. He chewed thoughtfully, and then nodded. "Good," he replied.

"Did you drink more?"

Lucas shrugged. "A little."

"Did you stay up late?"

Lucas was having a tremendously difficult time keeping his face from spreading into a guilty smirk. "A little."

The topic might have progressed further had there been more common languages between them, but Mark's grilling could only get so far with Lucas's clumsy Korean. Mark eventually turned his attention back to Taeyong and Lucas turned his attention to his food. He shovelled down the rest of his plate, loaded up another, and was considering a third when Mark and Taeyong excused themselves to go pack. Lucas realized he needed to do the same.

He wandered back up to his room. He sat and stared at his duffle bag for five minutes and then went and knocked on Ten's door. There was no answer. He got out his phone and sent Ten a text.

A door opened to his left.

Jongin emerged. He was wearing an indigo turtleneck tucked into black pants. His skin glowed so vibrantly it was actually an injustice.

"Looking for Ten?" he asked.

Lucas nodded.

"I think he went to the gym. We're going shopping."

Lucas thanked him and went back to the elevator, telling the security guards where he was going. The company had reserved various areas for the weekend, including the cafeteria a floor below them and a large private gym on the twentieth floor. The elevator ejected him into a cold hallway, with blue walls, brown flooring, and fluorescent lights. The decor clashed with the design on the other floors, perhaps a more recent renovation. He walked past a row of caddies and pushed through a heavy glass door into the gym.

The gym was empty.

He did slow laps around a line of ellipticals and pulled out his phone. He was seconds to sending Ten another text when he heard something echoing from down the hall. He wandered towards it, realizing as he got closer that it was music.

He peered through the glass on a door marked 'studio 1.' Ten was inside, barefoot, leaping back and forth, arms forming elegant arches over his head. After a moment, he took out his phone and started the song from the beginning.

"Hey," Lucas said, pushing through the door.

Ten hardly looked surprised.

"Are you choreographing something?"

"Yes," Ten said.

"Did you get my texts?"

"I did." Ten looked a little guilty.

Ten ran through a section of footwork. Lucas watched, and then turned to look at himself in the mirror. Mark was right. He did look a little rundown.

"Don't you need to pack?"

Lucas frowned. "It'll take me like, twenty minutes tops."

Ten played the music again and started dancing. The bass rolled through the floor from big speakers tucked somewhere out of sight. Lucas fussed with his hair in the mirror, his eyes darting back to Ten now and then. The music stopped and Lucas turned around. Ten was standing there looking at him.

"Don't you think you should leave?"

"You want me to go?"

"Honestly, yes."

Lucas scrunched up his brow. "Why?"

"Because. It was already suspicious enough that we spent the whole night together. Now you've gone on this wild goose chase looking for me. I think you should go."

"I really don't think they know."

Ten snorted. "They were drunk, but not that drunk."

"It was a game. Things always get weird with truth or dare, and besides, does it even matter?" Lucas's facial expression was wiped blank with annoyance. "I had breakfast with Mark and Taeyong today and everything was fine."

"How would you know? They could've been gossiping about you right in front of your face and you wouldn't have been able to understand what they were saying."

"Oy. That's harsh."

Ten turned to the side and pinched the bridge of his nose. He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry," he muttered. "It's just, this issue is a lot more complicated than just _them finding out._ We're working in the Korean music industry. We aren't Korean. We're always going to be one step behind. The last thing I need is another reason to fall short of the ideal."

"Are you talking about people thinking you're gay?"

"I _am_ gay," Ten laughed weakly. "And yes, but no."

"Then what do you..."

"Rumours can hurt you to a point, but they don't... get inside you." Ten continued to stare at the floor. His arms were wrapped tight around his tiny body. "But if you cause problems with your close peers, that has the potential to undo your entire career."

"If you're talking about me, I'm gonna be fine."

"But are you?" Ten turned to look at him sharply. "You say that you are, but what about next week? What about when you want it to happen again? What about when talking to me as a friend starts to feel weird and we can't even sit in the same room without feeling uncomfortable?"

"Dude..."

"I've been through this before." Ten inhaled sharply through his nostrils. "I know how it goes."

There was a long moment of silence.

"WinWin," Lucas said softly.

Ten shook his head. "The only saving grace is that we never actually fucked."

"But what about Taeyong?"

"What about him?"

"Why are you crushing on him so badly if you hate this kind of thing?"

"I don't _hate_ this kind of thing. It's just... well, besides, the Taeyong thing was never anything serious."

Lucas raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure about that?"

"I've always checked Taeyong out. Blatantly. All throughout Baby Don't Stop, and afterwards. It's a constant in our lives. It's also a line both of us will never cross."

"What about all the moaning about him last night in your room? How excited you were when you found out he might be into guys?"

"Oh my god, Lucas. I was just playing around. I already know Taeyong is all over the place that way. It was a fun conversation and I wanted to keep it going—imaginary orgies are some of my favourite things." He looked up and searched Lucas's face, his expression almost condescending. "You didn't think I was actually serious about that, did you?"

Lucas stared at Ten's bare feet. They glowed like deep sea creatures against the black flooring.

"So you lied to me."

"I guess I did."

"And you're saying you play around with people all the time."

"That's right."

"With no intention of actually sleeping with them."

"Yeah." Ten squared his shoulders. "It's just the way I am. I'm sorry."

"But." Lucas looked up and met Ten's eye. "You slept with me."

Ten's gaze became stricken.

"Just like that. After one night of flirtation."

"Shut up."

"Wow." Lucas smiled. "I was feeling a little mad there for a moment, but this is actually pretty dope."

"I said shut your face."

Lucas started to laugh. Ten snatched up his hoodie and stormed past. Lucas caught his arm in his long fingers.

"Hey, wait. Are you actually mad?"

Ten spun around. His eyes were wide and dangerous, and also, to Lucas's horror, slightly damp.

"Easy for you to make jokes about this when you're the big manly one," he rattled off in lightning fast, sloppy Mandarin. "You could probably fuck everyone in SuperM and people still wouldn't question your sexuality the way they'd question mine. This isn't a joke. My career isn't a joke!"

Lucas reeled. He was having a hard time wrapping his mind around how anybody could ever consider Ten's career a joke, even in theory.

"I need to get this choreography down," Ten snapped, hurling his hoodie on the floor. He started the song. Lucas stood there and watched.

"Cool," Lucas said, once the music stopped.

"I wish I had time to start recording the music," Ten muttered. "I have most of the melodies down. It's going to be like New Heroes, but even better. This time I'm going to write the song too."

"I can't wait to see."

A little smile snuck its way onto Ten's face. He started the music and ran through it one more time.

"You work really hard," Lucas said, when the song ended this time.

"Not hard enough."

"You just had a debut and a comeback. We're on tour, and you're working on your solo career."

"Not enough."

"You don't want to wear yourself out."

"Oh, I won't. Art is really the only thing that makes me feel alive." Ten sunk down into the splits.

Lucas stood there and watched Ten stretch his legs. He gazed into the mirror, at his own haggard, beautiful face, and then back at Ten.

"I think it's really cool, you know."

"Hmm?"

"How unstoppable you are. I wouldn't want you to be any other way."

Ten stretched even lower into the splits. His face was hidden, but thanks to the floor-to-ceiling mirrors, Lucas could see from the side that he was smiling.

"Thanks."

"Even if it means I'll never have your cock in my ass again."

Ten let out his breath in a bedraggled splutter and rolled onto his side, laughing. "Can you just stop?"

Lucas grinned so hard it felt like his face was splitting.

***

Ten crashed into a chair and let his head loll to the side. Lucas kicked his foot. Ten opened his eyes a sliver.

"Good show."

"Thanks," Ten said softly. His shirt stuck to his body with sweat. "You too."

"I can't believe we're going to be performing with WayV in just three days."

"We're all over the place right now..." Ten yawned, massaging his shoulder.

"How's your neck?"

"Still sore. I got a terrible sleep last night. Ate a bunch of dark chocolate and was up until like... three."

Taeyong came bouncing into the change room with Jongin's arm slung around him.

"Hey Taeyong," Lucas hollered. "Come give Ten a massage. He's sore."

Taeyong sprinted over and pushed Ten forward so he could get at his neck. Ten jostled, looking a little annoyed, and then grunted in pleasure as Taeyong dug his thumbs in.

Taemin was having a phone call in the corner. Baekhyun and Mark were chugging water bottles from the fridge. Jongin sat down next to Lucas, drying his hair with a towel.

"Good job today," he said, patting Lucas's leg.

"You too, Hyung."

"You're so tight," Taeyong remarked.

"And you're so hyper," Ten said. "Why do you have so much energy?"

"It happens to me sometimes after a show."

Ten smiled with his eyes closed. "I love that feeling."

"What's up with him?" Jongin asked.

"Not a big deal," Ten answered, before any of them could answer for him. "Just tired. It's an early plane tomorrow to Beijing. Wish I had time to work on my choreography."

"Yeah, touring can be a bit of a grind," Jongin said.

"Hey, Taeyong," Mark said. "The stylist is asking for you."

"Okay!"

Taeyong ran across the room and disappeared into the hallway. Ten thumped back against the recliner, his lips sticking out in the ghost of a pout. Lucas hauled himself to his feet and walked around behind Ten's chair.

Ten looked up and caught Lucas's eye, his lips parting as if he were going to say something, but then Lucas kneaded hard at the back of his neck and his eyes fluttered closed. He sat like that, face dipped upwards in the same position until Lucas moved his head so that he was facing forward again.

"Gotta keep your shoulders straight or you'll make it worse."

"I have perfect posture," Ten grumbled.

"You're so grumpy!" Lucas laughed in delight.

A runner arrived with their jackets. Jongin went to get Ten and Lucas's from the pile.

"Harder," Ten said softly.

Lucas dug his thumbs in even deeper. Ten moaned a little under his breath. Jongin reappeared and tossed a puffer jacket and a heavy black peacoat onto Ten's lap. "Come on, kids," he said. "The van's waiting."

Ten straightened up and stretched, pushing his chest out. There was a long, quiet moment where Lucas watched him clumsily get his jacket on, having already put his on. The room seemed to empty at the speed of light in comparison to how long it was taking for Ten to find one sleeve, and then another. Fluorescent lighting and the smell of old catering food hung in the air.

"I can do more for you when we get back to the hotel."

The words rang out bold and clumsy and obvious in the silence. Ten opened his eyes and looked at Lucas. His mouth curved up into a smile, and he laughed softly, doing up the last button. "Come on," he said, reaching for Lucas's hand. Lucas wove his fingers between Ten's and followed him out into the hallway.

Unanswered questions. Questionless answers.

Ten rested his head on Lucas's shoulder during the drive and then promptly disappeared to his own room once they got back to the hotel. Lucas found him early the next morning doing stretches in the hallway, a bowl of Greek salad in one hand, a pair of chopsticks in the other. They caught the plane for Beijing a couple hours later. Lucas slept the whole flight away while Ten sipped coffee and scribbled lyrics in a notebook, humming and counting out beats. He'd recorded a rough demo of his song and was listening to it in one ear as he wrote. A flight attendant came by and Ten got them each a sandwich. A sleepy Lucas inhaled his in under a minute.

Vehicles. Fans.

Flashing cameras.

They showed up at the hotel in the late afternoon. The other guys from WayV had arrived earlier that morning and room arrangements were already decided: three rooms, XiaoJun, Kun, and YangYang in one, WinWin and Hendery in another. Lucas and Ten concluded that they would be boarding together in the third. SM didn't dish out the cash for WayV the same way they did for SuperM.

"Here we are again," Ten laughed, washing his face in the bathroom.

"I'm losing track of time and space."

"It's only going to get worse."

"Yeah." Lucas smirked, changing into a pair of jeans. "I mean, I'm up for the challenge."

Ten tossed a towel over the rack. "Same."

There was a streak of competitiveness between them. Between any of them, always. Put a bunch of handsome, talented boys together, ply them with popularity contests and other measures of success, and what else was bound to happen?

Still, Ten often found himself thinking of the music instead.

How it made him move. How he was going to get inside of it. What he wanted to say. He refined his choreography whenever he could, slept when his brain agreed to shut off, and snuck in the odd phone conversation with his mom.

Life was a blur, but throughout it all a distant, open-ended question lingered; something made of dream-stuff and fantasy.

The music to Moonwalk ended and YangYang immediately collapsed in a puddle, rolling onto his back. Hendery plopped down beside him, grabbing him around the waist and snuggling into his shoulder. YangYang made a loud squealing noise.

"Good shit," Lucas said, pushing his hair back from his face and walking around in a circle to catch his breath.

"I'm still not sure about that note," Xiaojun gasped.

"You're doing fine," WinWin said from the floor, where he was stretching.

"It's always kind of weird lip-syncing super expressive passages," Ten agreed. "But Win's right, it looks realistic." He dropped down in front of WinWin and held out his hands. WinWin lined their feet up and pulled Ten forward into a deep stretch. Ten groaned in a way that was both suggestive and innocent. Innocent because the way he did it was so perfectly earnest, self-conscious instead of self-absorbed.

Lucas stole glances at them in the floor-to-ceiling mirror. 

Now Ten was pulling WinWin forward. WinWin's legs were longer than Ten's, but so was his torso, so once he bottomed out his face was practically in Ten's crotch. It didn't help that both of them were so flexible.

"You know, I really didn't see it before," Lucas remarked in the car on the way to the TV set. "Not until you told me it was a thing."

Ten sprawled against his seat, one finger lingering idly between his lips, gazing out the car window. "Enlighten me as to what you're talking about."

It was just the two of them again. The others had gone in another van. It was starting to feel like SM was treating them as a subunit within a subunit—the non-Korean Koreans—those of SuperM, the chosen.

Shop lights swam over Ten's features like fairy lights. Both of them had been styled and make-up'd before they left the studio and his blue contacts kept catching the beams of passing cars.

"You and WinWin."

Ten laughed in surprise. "I'm actually shocked. Your mind is usually running into all kinds of weird, horny places."

"Well, I mean, it still is."

"Do go on. Or you know what, don't, that's probably a better idea."

"I'm just curious as to why it didn't work out." Lucas shrugged. "You two seem to vibe on the same wavelength."

"I told you, I'm not looking for that kind of thing."

Pre-show conversations were often tense, brimming over with anticipation and low-level adrenaline. There was lots of self-focused silence. Neither of them said anything as the driver parked the van.

The door opened and they loaded out, past hoards of fans, into the backstage area. YangYang was bouncing up and down on his feet, alternating between saccharine smiles and distracted staring. WinWin was breathing with his eyes closed, no doubt doing his best to force away his classic dance training in lieu of the more commercial choreography that awaited them.

"Alright, everybody ready?" Kun asked.

The stage manager gave the signal.

Later that night Ten and Lucas lay in bed side by side. The silence was almost cool to the touch after the heat of the stage. The room smelled like soap and chamomile. The curtains were closed, blocking out the sights and sounds of the big city. The steam rising from Ten's cup of tea caught the artificial light emanating from a thermostat on the wall, from the digital clock on the nightstand.

"Why did you make tea right before going to sleep?"

"I like the way it smells."

"Are you going to drink any of it?"

"Mhm." Ten shuffled against his pillow. "In the morning, when it's cold, I might have a few sips."

"You know, I'm not looking for that kind of thing either."

Ten was quiet. So was Lucas.

"I'm not asking about these things because I want anything from you," he eventually carried on. "I'm just... curious."

Ten's voice was small as the darkness made Lucas feel. "Curious about what?"

Lucas rolled onto his back. "I don't know. About your life?"

"Why?"

Another long silence.

"Hold up. Are you drinking the tea?"

"Yes."

"I thought you weren't going to."

A slurp resonated through the shadow.

"Hmm. You got me thinking about how good tea is when it's hot. Much better than when it's cold. I couldn't see the water and I burnt my tongue but it was totally worth it."

"Oh no!"

The sound of the mug clunking onto the nightstand signalled the end of Ten's sightless experiments.

The silence was back. Lucas inhaled deeply and held it.

"Oh my god." Ten started to laugh.

"What?" Lucas demanded.

Ten rolled over and over until his arm flopped over Lucas's chest and his stomach was snuggled right up against his side.

Lucas stared into the darkness. He could already feel himself starting to sweat from the heat but he would've sooner confessed his darkest secrets on live television than tell Ten that just now. He reached up and rested his hand on Ten's shoulder, trying not to think about how if Ten slid his knee up just a little further, he'd be straddling one of Lucas's legs.

He'd almost fallen asleep when Ten shuffled a little.

"You okay?" Lucas mumbled.

"I'm curious about you too." Ten sounded a little breathless. "I wonder who you had crushes on over your years as a rookie. I wonder what you're in this for. I wonder how you can be so good-looking." The chuckle that followed was a little guilty.

"I almost went into modeling."

"I've heard."

"Could've done it. But in the end I wanted something more."

"What do you mean?"

"I wanted a challenge. I wanted to be around people that inspired me. Modeling sounded too competitive."

"Our industry is competitive as fuck."

"Yeah, but it isn't as lonely; not with you bastards around, driving me nuts twenty-four hours a day."

"I'm pretty sure it's the other way around most of the time."

Lucas laughed.

"You don't like being alone?"

"Not particularly."

Ten was quiet for a while. "I guess I don't either."

Lucas slid his hand down and rested it on the small of Ten's back. Ten made a little humming noise. Lucas pulled the waistband of Ten's briefs out.

"Don't you dare—"

Lucas let go.

The elastic slapped audibly against Ten's skin. He yelped, his hips jolting forward. Lucas rubbed his fingers soothingly over the point of contact. Ten pressed in closer and Lucas made an interested hum.

"I'm sorry," Ten whispered.

"S'okay. Literally happens to me all the time."

Ten clung to Lucas's shirt. Apologies had been accepted but his body was showing no sign of cooling down. He was much more out of breath than someone with his cardiovascular fitness should have been after one small shock. Lucas rolled on top of him, making sure one of his legs stayed between Ten's. It wasn't that hard, given that Ten's thighs were tense enough to probably keep it there on their own.

"What do you want?" Lucas asked.

"Fuck, so many things."

Lucas swallowed. Ten fidgeted beneath him.

"What if I just suck you off?" Lucas asked. "Wouldn't be that big a deal."

"Okay," Ten breathed.

Lucas pushed the covers off. It wasn't like he could see Ten any better, given how dark the room was, but he was actually starting to sweat through his t-shirt. He moved down Ten's body and pulled down his briefs, nuzzling around with his nose. The side of his cheek brushed against Ten's length and Ten moaned. Lucas pulled the briefs off all the way and reached up, wrapping Ten up in one of his enormous hands.

"Fuck," Ten hissed.

"You want my mouth?"

"Please?"

Lucas sucked and lapped at the top of Ten's cock and stroked him with his hand. He tasted exactly how Lucas expected—light and salty. Ten moaned and twitched, little pulses of precum mixing with Lucas's spit, until suddenly, just before Lucas thought he had him, Ten pushed him off. Lucas blinked, confused, and then, without warning, the light flicked on.

Ten lay in front of him, panting and flushed, one hand on the lamp, the other tangled in his own hair. His thighs were spread wide and his t-shirt rode up past his belly button. His dick looked painfully hard.

"Fuck," Lucas remarked, licking his lips.

"Wanted to see you," Ten stammered. "I kinda want to see you touch yourself."

Lucas pulled his cock out of his boxers and gave it a stroke.

"Just like that."

Lucas rolled his head back, adam's apple becoming more prominent, and fell into a steady rhythm. His cock was sensitive; nowhere near as chaffed and over-stimulated as the night after the party in Jongin's room. "N-not gonna last," he grunted.

He opened his eyes and snuck a glance at Ten. Ten's chest rose and fell with breath. He was slowly jerking himself with one hand, the other toying with one of his nipples. His eyes were glassy. He looked pretty wrecked.

"I wanna sit on you so bad," Ten muttered. "I want you to wreck me."

"God."

Lucas's hand stuttered and he came into his palm. Ten gave himself a few quick jerks and writhed silently as cum gushed up onto his stomach. Lucas actually drooled.

The room echoed with the racket of their breathing.

Lucas looked down at his own hand, up at Ten, and then at Ten's stomach. He slid off the bed and went to get a wet cloth. Ten overshot him, feet pitter-pattering over the tile, and ducked into the shower. Lucas crossed his arms.

"I was just going to wipe it off with a towel."

"Shower's better."

"How long are you going to take?"

A hand appeared from behind the curtain. "Come on, just get in here."

Lucas climbed into the shower and Ten instantly assaulted him with two handfuls of shampoo. It was quite a reach and most of it got on his face. Lucas hogged the water until Ten pushed in the plug and the tub started to slowly fill up. Lucas stomped, splashing water all over the floor, and slipped, almost ripping the curtain off its rod as he tried to regain his balance.

And then they were back in bed.

The room smelled like shampoo and wet linen. Ten switched off the light and the darkness returned. Lucas lay on his back. Ten lay on his side. The only evidence of time having passed was the mug of chamomile tea on the nightstand, which was no longer steaming.

***

Before they knew it they were in Canada.

SuperM was doing a show in Vancouver. Mark took them all out for bubbletea to celebrate the return to his home country. The staff drove them to a lookout near the docks. They huddled in coats, clutching their bubbletea with gloved hands, and watched seagulls circle overhead. The sun poked through the clouds, catching in the humid air.

"It's nice out here," Taemin remarked. "I'd like to film a music video in this mist."

"Or at least do a photoshoot," Jongin said.

"Maybe someday."

Taeyong was doing an Instagram live with Lucas at the end of the dock. They were playing with filters in realtime, showing off their bubbletea and making weird faces.

"Those two are so weird," Mark said. "They've been on that live for fifteen minutes and I think they've spoken a total of like, ten sentences?"

"They're vibing on a similar wavelength," Ten replied. Whenever it was just him and Mark he defaulted to English. It was a rough translation from Mandarin, but it still carried the essence of its original speaker. The words were sweet on his tongue.

"I can't help but notice..." Mark turned to Ten, lowering his voice.

Ten's eyes went wide and he smiled. "Hmm?"

"You and Lucas."

"What about us?"

Mark raised an eyebrow.

" _What_?" Ten looked scandalized.

"I dunno." Mark stared into the distance and sipped his bubbletea. Ten stared scorch marks into the side of his face.

"Do you think we'll end up forever alone?"

"You?" Ten shook his head. "No way. You'll find someone."

"You could too."

"I wasn't built for that kind of thing."

"Just because you're a workaholic doesn't mean you don't deserve romance."

"Romance? In the KPOP industry?" Ten let out a single loud laugh.

Mark lowered his voice again and Ten's posture became rigid.

"It's different outside of Korea. Take Canada for instance." Mark glanced in Ten's direction. "People of all kinds can love each other here."

"It's _different_ in Thailand too," Ten muttered. "But those aren't the countries our industry is based out of."

"I dunno." Mark glanced at him. "I just think it would be cute. You know." He winked. "If you found someone."

Ten covered the lower half of his face with a hand, blushing furiously. He'd been holding it together but truth be told he'd reached his limit the second the conversation began.

"Naw, man." Mark waved a hand in front of him. "It isn't anything to be embarrassed about."

"It's nothing," Ten said softly. "It's really nothing."

Mark patted his shoulder and changed the subject. They chatted about the tour, and if they preferred pearls or jellies, and what it would feel like to swim in the inlet at this time of year. Everyone was laughing, but it still took almost five minutes for Ten’s stomach to settle enough for him to drink more of his bubbletea.

***

Ten burst into the hotel room. Lucas was lying on the couch, scrolling through his phone. Taeyong and Mark followed in hot pursuit. Ten walked straight up to Lucas and pushed a cup of tea into his hands. Lucas grunted in surprise.

"You couldn't resist, could you?" Ten asked. "Posting a selfie when you're sick. You do know that you actually look exactly the same as when you're healthy?"

"Do I?" Lucas asked vaguely, taking a sip of tea. "Ooh, that's tasty."

"It's ginger and lemon. Fresh cut, by yours truly," Mark said.

"Well, gee. Thanks."

Spending so much time with SuperM had improved Lucas's Korean, even if he shirked the late night study sessions Ten couldn't seem to get enough of.

"Play dumb all you want but I know you're gloating," Ten said. "Posting an immaculate selfie with a caption complaining about how sick you are. You just want to hear all the fans going on about how inhuman you are."

Lucas smiled at each of them in turn. "I see nothing wrong with taking enjoyment in hearing people speak the truth."

Ten reached up and ran a hand down the side of Lucas's face. "Speaking of the truth, you don't even have a fever."

"My throat really is sore!"

"Is it?" Mark said. "Well, drink the tea. We've got a show to perform in two hours."

"I'll be fine." Lucas took a big gulp. "I'll just be raspier and sexier than usual."

"He's really on a roll today," Taeyong laughed.

Ten rolled his eyes. "He's always on a roll. To where, I don't know."

"I might have a few ideas," Lucas muttered in Mandarin.

The conversation carried on. Lucas busied himself with his tea. Taeyong joked about one of Mark's lines in the Korean Air commercial. Ten had begun to think he was out of the water when Lucas looked up and caught his eye. Lucas's crooked smile quickly escalated to a crooked smirk. Ten shook his head and pulled his phone out of his pocket. He scrolled through his messages, crushing the urge to grin like an idiot.

By the time they got to the venue Lucas was bouncing off the walls. He kept rocking from foot-to-foot and loudly humming vocal warm-ups. The energy was contagious. Soon enough all of them were pacing and hopping around. It was one of the bigger stadiums they'd performed in, with tons of screens and an enormous, extending stage. They could hear the cheering from the change rooms just from the video loop alone.

Ten stood in position, waiting for the stage platform to lift. He glanced in Lucas's direction and found himself looking straight into Lucas's eyes. Lucas gave him a nod, and in that moment, life couldn't have been any better.

They danced like their lives depended on it.

In many ways they did. Without art... without music, and a chance to perform in front of thousands of people, would any of them know what to do with themselves?

It was one of those shows where the electricity built with each number. By the time they finished the last song, Ten never thought he'd stop smiling. After the encore, he grabbed Taemin and Baekhyun's hands and jumped around in a circle. After the encore encore, it really was done, and he realized he was going to have to live with his manic, exalted self for the next twenty-four hours.

His head was spinning too fast to brainstorm wind-down strategies. He strode quickly down the hallway that led backstage. Lucas hurried up beside him. Their knuckles brushed. Ten inhaled sharply. He didn't even try to hide it.

They ate, showered, changed. Baekhyun ordered wine up to the room. Ten drank his sauvignon blanc in small sips, hardly noticing its effect. Taeyong ordered another plate of chicken. Taemin ordered another bottle of wine.

And then it was almost three in the morning and Ten was sitting alone in his room, staring at his computer screen, trying to come up with ideas. He got through a whole page of lyrics before he realized that what he had written was meaningless. He opened his music recording software and stared at a blank track for ten minutes. It was always a particularly disconcerting feeling when his mind abandoned him like this, leaving him to burn in the inferno of his creative energy without an outlet.

He found himself cursing SM's decision to give the members of SuperM separate rooms.

He wasn't tired enough to sleep but was too tired to deny what his thoughts might've meant. He pushed his laptop to the side and slid his sweatpants down.

He jerked off hard and fast, his back arching against the mattress, and came within minutes. He knew right away that it wasn't going to be enough. He reached down and fumbled in his bag for his lube. The first finger went in easy. He twisted his hand, trying for a better angle, and then added another finger instead. Little whimpers erupted at the back of his throat. He was starting to get hard again.

Someone knocked at his door.

He froze, nightstand covered in crumpled tissues and an open bottle of lube, two fingers up his ass, and listened.

The knock came again.

"Oh fuck," he whispered, pulling his fingers free. He slid off the bed and hurried into the washroom, washing his hands, and then threw on a robe. "Coming," he called. He hoped it wasn't a staff member, although that would probably be preferable to Mark, who would insist on coming inside, or Taeyong, who would probably know exactly what he was up to.

He cracked the door a smidge.

"Hey."

Ten swallowed hard. "Hey."

"Can't sleep," Lucas said.

Ten opened the door all the way. Lucas's eyes flitted down to his bare legs, and then back up to his face.

Ten reached out and grabbed the front of Lucas's shirt, pulling him inside. The door closed with a _clack._

"Did anyone see you?" Ten asked.

Lucas started to respond but Ten was already pulling him close, closer and closer, until Lucas had Ten pinned up against the wall. Ten reached down and gripped Lucas's ass. There was a pause, and then Lucas leaned down and kissed him.

Ten moaned into Lucas's mouth and spread his legs, moving one of Lucas's hands underneath his robe.

"Fuck," Lucas breathed.

"I was doing stuff," Ten whispered against Lucas's lips. "To myself. That's why—"

"God damn."

"Lucas, _please_."

Lucas pushed two fingers up and Ten whimpered, bracing himself against the wall. Lucas slung one of Ten's legs over his elbow for a better angle and fingered him slow and easy. The one leg holding Ten up began to shake.

"I can't take this," Ten gasped. "I need more—"

Lucas picked Ten up and dumped him on the bed. Ten shuffled out of his robe and pulled Lucas's shirt off over his head. He pushed his chest out to get some contact with Lucas's bare skin. His nipples tightened into tight knots. Lucas pushed him onto his back and Ten grabbed impatiently at his hips.

"You want me?" Lucas asked, probably because he just wanted to hear the answer.

" _Yeah_."

"Now?"

"Please, Lucas, I'm not kidding—"

Lucas pushed his hips forward. Ten swore harshly.

"You o-okay?"

"God, you feel so fucking good."

Lucas began to thrust, hard and slow. Ten propped his legs over Lucas's shoulders and took him even deeper.

"Glad I jerked o-off before this, want it to last—"

"And you fingered yourself—"

"Y-yeah, but it wasn't enough."

"Fuck that's hot."

Ten rolled them over until he was on top. He sunk down into Lucas's lap, throwing his head back, torso and arms impossibly slender for the strength they possessed. "You're so pretty," Lucas muttered. A ghost of a smile danced on Ten's mouth.

Lucas kissed and sucked at Ten's neck, and then pushed him into a back bend and kissed and sucked his nipples instead. Ten stayed like that for a while, luxuriating in Lucas's mouth, grinding slowly, until he couldn't take it anymore. "Just gonna..." Ten pushed Lucas onto his back. "Just gonna go for it."

It was Lucas's turn to beg. "Please."

Ten started bouncing. Lucas moaned, Ten bounced harder, and the bed frame rattled. Lucas gripped the headboard, jaw clenched tight, and watched Ten take himself apart.

The orgasm was deep this time, almost cleansing. Ten flicked his wrist, fingers tight around his own cock, milking the aftershocks. A desperate sound rose up in his throat. "Go on," he gasped into Lucas's neck. "Take what you need." He didn't even want to know what he looked like right now.

Lucas flipped him onto his back and gazed down straight at his face. Ten covered his cheeks with his hands. Lucas moved his hands away, pinning him to the mattress, and snapped his hips in quick bursts until hot liquid trickled out of Ten, around Lucas's length, onto the sheets, and everything Ten tried to say came out as a broken stutter.

Ten reached for the tissues and gave up halfway. Lucas got them for him and gave his body a cursory wipe. Taeyong would've been horrified at the state of their bed. Ten flopped onto his side.

"Come on," Lucas panted. "Let's go shower."

"But Lucas..."

"But Ten," Lucas mimicked sweetly.

"How are you so okay with this?"

"I dunno." Lucas's enormous eyes trailed over his face. "It just feels right."

Ten leaned against the shower wall and let Lucas scrub him from head to toe with cheap hotel bodywash. Their dermatologists would have been appalled.

"Why tonight?" Lucas asked, studying Ten's sleepy face.

Water streamed down Lucas's body in rivulets. His eyelashes forked into little stars, dark in comparison to his hair.

"I dunno. That show was amazing. I was riding high and wasn't coming down. Figured I needed to ride that D while I was at it."

Lucas snorted. "I mean, relatable."

They wrapped themselves up in towels and crawled into bed. Ten lay on his back, floundering, until Lucas shuffled up beside him and snuggled into his shoulder.

"At the risk of causing your ego to detonate, I actually feel like you aren't human."

"What do you mean?"

"You're more like an art project."

"Okay?"

"I mean..." Ten looked away into the darkness. "You don't really feel like a human so much as a... song. Yeah? Something I'd listen to a lot, maybe something I'd write choreography to."

"Knowing how you feel about music, that's actually pretty cool."

The silence stretched on. Ten resisted the urge to take it all back. Lucas found his hand in the dark. They laced their fingers together and Ten's body relaxed a little.

The tour loomed ahead, too many days on the road and not enough in the studio. Planes, dining halls, vans. Very few things were a constant in the madness that was their lives.

"Goodnight Lucas."

"Goodnight Ten," Lucas whispered.

For now, Ten ran his fingers through blue-blond hair in the darkness. Light hinted at the edges of the curtains. Sleep hinted at the periphery of his mind. Just as the sun began to rise he fell asleep in Lucas's arms.

**Author's Note:**

> Twitter and instagram: @vanishedelf


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